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NEWSLETTER
| Summer News!
August 5, 2010
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| Greetings! Wow! Is it August already? Where has the summer gone?
Good news: there's still plenty of summer left..and..plenty of time to join us in Elkton at our new Tasting Room - see details and meet our staff in the article below.
In the vineyards, the grapes are maturing nicely. In fact, our Cayuga is coming to harvest three weeks sooner than we expected. Some of you may know we had planned to hold a Cayuga Harvest Celebration on August 28. We've had to rework this date, but we do plan to hold a Harvest Celebration soon - probably for our Traminette. We will let you know the new date! In the meantime, come visit and enjoy a Wine Tasting while others do the work.
We also want to invite you to a couple of small, laid-back Wine Festivals around Maryland in August - Eastern Yacht Club's Bayside Blues and Music Festival and Uncorked Rockville.
And, of course, we are counting down to the oldest and biggest festival - the Maryland Wine Festival, September 18-19. We planned to write our own guide for the Festival, but came across this great set of tips in Carroll Magazine, so we've excerpted and linked to their article below. Reuse & recycle!
We hope to see you soon!
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Welcome to our Tasting Room!
Terrapin Station Winery is now open for Visitors Our Tasting Room is now open for Visitors! Stop by to taste a sample of each of our wines, tour the vineyards and winery, and/or pick up a box or two to take home.
The winery is open: - Thursdays - Saturdays 12-6 pm
- Sundays 1-6 pm
We are located at the corner of Ricketts Mill Road and Route 213
(Address: 80 Ricketts Mill Road, Elkton, MD). See Google Map for driving directions or see our Location Page for more information. Tasting Room TeamWe want to welcome and introduce the newest members of our Team - Stuart and Robyn. If you stop by the Tasting Room, you're likely to run into one or both of them - along with Janet and Linda (whom many of you may already know from Festivals or otherwise!). Stuart Bradshaw This transplant from California lives next door to Rob the vineyard manager and helps run the tasting room with Robyn. Stuart enjoys talking about wine with anyone who will listen and even to those who will not listen. He has a bit of a love affair with TSW's Cabernet Franc and Rob's Wheat Beer.
Stuart works in the publishing world by day and aspires to be the head wine taster at TSW. Robyn Burger Robyn recently joined the Terrapin Station team working in our new tasting room. Along with her husband, Rob, the vineyard manager, she has been watching the winery evolve over the past several years and is excited to continue on in this adventure. She is a people person and has been enjoying getting to know our neighbors as they stop by to sit back, relax and enjoy some great wine and good company.
In her spare time, Robyn enjoys being with her husband and two boys, loves being involved in anything artsy, creative and fun, and enjoys being outdoors, getting her hands dirty in her own garden.
We look forward to seeing you in the Tasting Room soon! We'll be open through the middle / end of October, so stop by before we're closed for Winter.
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Eastern's Bayside Blues & Wine Festival
Saturday, August 14
1 - 7 pm
Eastern Yacht Club
Essex, Maryland
This is the second annual Eastern's Bayside Blues and Wine Festival. This festival brings together Maryland wine, arts & crafts and the region's best live blues music! Join us on the water for Terrapin Station wine and excellent music. Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door and music performances go through 11 pm. Learn more about the Festival at www.easternsbaysidefestival.com(warning: music will play as soon as page loads and there doesn't seem to be a way to stop it) |
Uncorked Rockville 
Saturday, August 28
Noon - 6 p.m.
Rockville Town Square
Join us in Rockville's revitalized Town Center for an afternoon Wine and Music Festival that brings together Maryland wineries, an eclectic set of bands, and cooking demonstrations. For $10, you get a glass/free tastings from the different wineries and three stages of entertainment. This festival is small, but is an excellent chance to try some new Maryland wines. For more information, visit the City of Rockville's Events page. As always, if you would like to volunteer, send us a note at volunteer@terrapinstationwinery.com |
Terrapin Institute News!
Support the Terrapin As many of you know, we are great fans of the Diamondback Terrapin - the Maryland state reptile! We show our love by supporting the work of the Terrapin Institute to preserve this endangered reptile. Did you know - diamondback terrapins are the only North American turtles that live in brackish water (salt marshes, estuaries, and tidal basins such as the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf Coast)? Their population is in decline for many reasons, including erosion of their nesting habitats - which is exacerbated by the oil spill in the Gulf. Here in Maryland, many terrapins drown in eel and crab pots. These deaths can be prevented by equipping crab pots with turtle
excluders, or "Bycatch Reduction Devices" (required by law in
Maryland.) We donate a portion from all of our Wine Sales to the Terrapin Institute to continue their great work in support of the Terrapin. We recently contributed $2000 to the Institute - presenting a check at our Grand Opening.  |
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Harvest Celebration Plans
Date TBD
We still plan on having a harvest festival, but it looks like Mother Nature is going to make us reswizzle the plan. Originally we planned on August 28th for the Cayuga harvest, but it looks like the Cayuga will be ready THREE WEEKS EARLY! We have NEVER picked it any weekend other than the last in August. Therefore..., we will let everyone know the new date for the harvest festival, probably Traminette.
Stay tuned!
In the meantime, it looks like we will be harvesting our Cayuga this Saturday, August 7.
While this will NOT be a volunteer harvest (our vineyard management
company will be harvesting), feel free to swing by the winery and see how we
start the process of making grapes into wine. While the TSW crew toils,
you can sit back with a nice glass of TSW wine and watch the process.
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Guide to the Maryland Wine Festival! The 27th annual Maryland Wine Festival is coming up soon - September 18 & 19 at the Carroll County Farm Museum. This is the oldest and biggest of the Maryland Wine Festivals and is loads of fun. We wanted to put together some practical tips, but Carroll Magazine beat us to it, so we're sharing this article with you: Wining Wisely: A Practical Guide to the Wine FestivalOur favorite quotes from these tips for first-timers: "So wear comfortable shoes," said [grounds supervisor Mark] Duvall.Westminster resident Sharon Roman, who has attended past festivals, agrees:
"No matter how good those three-inch heels look at home, don't even
think about wearing them - notice the word 'farm' in Farm Museum."___ Our tips: Forget the corkscrew, just pick up a box instead! Decide in advance if you're just there to relax and have fun or are serious about trying new wines and seeking the best. Both are great ways to enjoy the festival.. If you want to try new wines, consider focusing on one variety (perhaps your favorite or something new, such as a Cabernet Franc or Vidal) and taste the same type of wine from several different vineyards. Or, focus on a few wineries and taste a sample of each of their wines. __ For more information about the Festival, visit the Maryland Wine Festival page. This is a huge festival for us and we'll be requesting volunteers soon. As always, if you would like to volunteer, send us a note at volunteer@terrapinstationwinery.com |
TSW Links
Cool & important stuff
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Thank you for your continued support. We have some exciting plans for the Winery in the works. Stay in touch! We hope to see you at an upcoming festival, tasting or at the winery soon.
Cheers,
  Morris & Janet Zwick |
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